I'm sure other people have used the same title. That's okay. I started this blog a long time ago. My life has changed a ton since then, and the purpose of this blog has also changed multiple times since then. This used to be focused on sports, and I still like the image I created to emphasize that, so I'm leaving it here. But it's not very relevant to the current content of this blog.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Making trades for some teams that need it

Okay, it's time to figure out how to fix some teams. My two main teams to fix are New York and Dallas. This is what I was thinking about for each team.

New York:

Needs a point guard who can run and get people involved in D'Antoni's system

Needs to dump the slow big men who will just get in the way

If possible, they need to dump some long term bad deals

If possible, they need to keep their good guys/fan favorites like David Lee and Jamal Crawford

Dallas:

Needs to give up any of the big contracts that they can

Needs to find a low post scorer who can draw some people from Dirk

If possible, needs to find another shooter who can hit shots when Dirk passes out

With that in mind, I looked to see if there were some things I could do. I already had the idea that Milwaukee might be a destination for one of those two big guys from New York, and since they were unwilling to do the deal for Randolph, I thought that maybe they'd take Curry. I also thought that if the Bucks were going to be involved, they would need to dump Mo Williams and his long contract, since that signing doesn't look like it will work out very well for them.

Having said that, here's the deal I did.

Why New York does it: Like I said, D'Antoni needs a point guard who can run. As much as Kidd has lost a step, he can still push the tempo and he can still create. Desmond Mason doesn't have a great shot, but it's not that bad, and he might do well as one of the guys that comes in for a little while, in addition to the already potent shooting duo of Jamal Crawford and Quenton Richardson. The bigger reason New York does this, though, is that they would be able to get rid of both Curry and Randolph. Oh yeah, the Knicks would have to give up cash and future first round picks. But really, to help fix some of the huge mistakes already made and clear up playing time for the young guys who could run and work in a D'Antoni system, I think it's worth it.

Why Milwaukee does it: They need to do something, and what they gave Mo Williams was way too much for what he brought them. This might not be a great deal for them, but they had already thought about a deal for Randolph because of the low-post offense he could bring. Owner Herb Kohl didn't like Randolph, but maybe he'd be okay with Curry and his similar offensive game. I don't know how well Curry would work alongside Bogut, but if it does, having the added inside presence should be really helpful for Redd. Shipping out Williams would open up a need for another PG, and while Nate Robinson isn't a great pure point guard, maybe he'd be able to fit the bill. Oh yeah, New York would need to send at least a future first to Milwaukee, and since they wouldn't do this deal if they got the first pick – and thus picked Derrick Rose to run the D'Antoni offense instead of Kidd – they would be able to trade this year's first round pick to Milwaukee as well.

Why Dallas does it: The Kidd trade obviously didn't work out the way they hoped it would. Dallas is still desperate. Randolph would give them the exact sort of low post offensive presence that they've been missing. There might be some doubt about how well he could share touches with Dirk, but having read enough about how sad he was to be in New York's terrible situation, he might actually be more willing, at least for a year. Listening to the Sports Guy's podcast from last week, I just found out that Mo Williams was actually a really good shooter last year on open shots. He might be a good complement to Dirk and Zach, even though he's not a great point guard. Bringing in those two guys would pack the Mavs with offensive firepower. Sure, it would do it in a way that I mocked for the Knicks, namely five guys who all need the ball to be effective. Maybe not all, but at least four (Dirk, Zach, Mo, and Jason Terry) of them have traditionally needed the ball in their hands to be effective. But again, what they tried wasn't working, and maybe Carlisle can convince them to work together, share the ball, and really feed off of the strengths they all bring to that end of the floor.

Oh yeah, the one caveat to this whole deal: if New York wins the first pick then they don't make this trade. They'd still try to dump Curry and Randolph, but they'd draft Derrick Rose and go from there.